My super easy bathroom/bedroom contemporary update: like putting a v-neck sweater over a gnarly sweat-stained tee

I moved into my “new to me” condo nearly two years ago. Loved almost everything about it but the very 1970s bathroom.

Beige tiles with brown sunflowers? Almond fixtures! Textured wallpaper!?! I hated that every time I sat down to pee I saw how someone has done a shitty job taking out a shower door and just didn’t know how to fix it on my own. I was overwhelmed by the cost and time it takes to renovate a bathroom (new tub? bathroom cabinet? someone who knows how to tile? what kind of taps?) so I waited.

Finally I realized I could do a few small things and transform! For $150 I painted the tiles using a brick and tile primer and water-proof paint, peeled off the wallpaper, scraped off the old silicon caulk and sealant, patched the walls and painted them a neutral off-white called “Popcorn.”

New white silicone caulk brought some challenges

but hours of entertaining caulk/cock jokes. My boyfriend thinks I’ve given the bathroom a v-neck sweater, making it much more conservative than it was. I think the walls make the almond tub, toilet and sink blend in better and the blue accents pop!

The bedroom is a lovely cool blue, calming but a little dark at times. I found the most incredible painting of the British Columbia interior in fall, with the salmon spawning in the foreground.

I wanted to play with those autumn colours or reds, oranges and yellows and chose new bedding from my favourite sheet store. Now the room is bright and cheery and a pleasure to sleep and snuggle in.